The Sports Xchange EditorsNote: Kaeding officially out Chargers sign PK Novak with Kaeding out Place-kicker Nick Novak was signed by the San Diego Chargers with Nate Kaeding sidelined for Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs with a groin injury. Kaeding has scored 27 points in the first three weeks of the season. He suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 1 of 2011 and was replaced by Novak. Kaeding then beat out Novak in a competition for the job in training camp this year.

Last season, it was June when Cubs manager Lou Piniella said he was out of answers for his team's struggling offense and was threatening to pull his lineup out of a hat. The guy who's supposed to lead was done before the All-Star break. This season, Piniella sounded like he was useless before the end of the Cubs Convention. Get a load of Piniella's answer when a fan asked why it took so long for a failing Alfonso Soriano to be moved from the leadoff spot: "He was signed here for a lot of money because of the success he had out of the leadoff spot.

You wouldn't want to be Nate Kaeding right now. San Diego's Pro Bowl kicker missed three -- THREE -- field goals in the Chargers' loss Sunday. At home. In the most important game of his career. Don't be surprised if he's out of a job soon. At the least, he should be out of the country, like right now. STUD OF THE WEEK Sidney Rice Brett Favre's go-to receiver Sunday had 143 yards and three touchdowns. All that, and he caught only six passes. DUD OF THE WEEK Tony Romo The Cowboys QB didn't have a TD pass, threw an interception and hit the turf a lot. Fans can't blame this one on Jessica Simpson.

The Sports Xchange Chargers release kicker Kaeding The San Diego Chargers gave kicker Nate Kaeding $1.2 million to walk away. The nine-year veteran received termination pay Tuesday when he passed a physical and the team released him. Kaeding is now an unrestricted free agent. Kaeding sustained a groin injury in practice Sept. 28, causing him to miss the team's past four games. The Chargers signed Nick Novak to replace him, and Novak has gone 7-for-8 on field-goal attempts.

Robbie Gould is closing in on an NFL record for field-goal accuracy, but the milestone the Chicago Bears kicker cares about most involves Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton. Gould ranks third in Bears career scoring with 739 points (172 field goals, 223 extra points) and is just 12 points shy of surpassing Payton for second place on the list. Former kicker Kevin Butler is the franchise's all-time leading scorer with 1,116 points. Gould is the third-most accurate kicker in NFL history, connecting on 172 of 199 career field goal attempts (86.2 percent)

1. Nate Kaeding (6-0, 185), Iowa Best of the bunch. A good athlete, he was on Iowa state championship basketball and soccer teams. Consistent pressure kicker, he is more accurate than long. 2. B.J. Sander (6-3, 220), Ohio St. Almost half of punts downed inside 20. 3. Josh Scobee (6-1, 190), LSU Best kickoff man, long-range kicker. 4. David Kimball (6-1, 200), Penn St. Almost half of his kickoffs went for touchbacks, but otherwise untested. 5. Donnie Jones (6-2, 220)

The NFL's new rule that moved kickoffs up 5 yards this season produced a huge number of touchbacks during the opening weekend. The league moved kickoffs up to the 35-yard line hoping to address safety concerns, and that produced nearly triple the number of touchbacks from last year, according to STATS LLC. Heading into Sunday night's game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets, 49 percent of kickoffs (63 of 129) were touchbacks. Last season only 18 percent (24 of 137)